Teams were probably baffled because they couldn't decide who they wanted more, Rudy or Belinelli.
The Spurs are in a horrible financial situation, as far as making any serious moves. The highest paid player on the team does not even attempt 3-point shots. For example.
The Kings hit 19 of 35 three-pointers against us. In beating the Clips, the Twolves went 26 of 44 from the arc. Teams notice things like that.
Then they look at DDR. Who shoots zilch for zilch from the arc. Do they want him? Not much. Would they pay $27.7 million for him? Har har har.
DDR can do some things, sure. He's a good player in some ways. He can get you 20 ppg the hard way, 2 at a time. What's that really worth, in ye olde modern NBA? Wild guess...$15M. Can the Spurs afford to take a $12M loss on that contract? Nope. All they can do is let it run out. So, no trade.
Same with Rudy Gay. The Spurs are overpaying him by too much. The team can't afford the hit to trade him.
Same with LMA. Sure, he could be traded, but at what price? There's the rub.
Fans talk about the players, but it's really about the money. The Spurs, these last few years with Pop, have been grossly overpaying players. Now it's come around to bite them. They can't afford trades. The financial losses are too heavy.
It's all turned into a big Pau Gasol situation. The Spurs moved Gasol by agreeing to pay part of his salary themselves. Of which $5M is still on the books this year.
Sure, the Spurs could have a "fire sale" and move most of their players - by agreeing to pay, oh, maybe $50 million worth of salary to players who aren't here any more. Good grief.